The Wobbling Sprocket

Here are words I never expected to see in the same sentence-  fine dining,  fine wine and Laos.

The Sethha Palace in Vientiane and 3 Nagas in Luang Prabang are both high end hotels.  They are not really a good representation of what most of Laos is all about.

We did, however, find a good wine shop on the main drag in Luang Prabang.  I don’t recall the name but someone reading this might.  Here is a picture:

Luang Prabang

Wine on the main drag in Luang Prabang

What I do remember well is our adventures in fine dining on water buffalo.

Like the time Jeff C ordered water buffalo soup at Kem Khan gardens on the banks of the Nam Khan in Luang Prabang.  What Jeff didn’t know, until he had a mouthful, was that the water buffalo in the soup was skin.  Trying to chew water buffalo skin is something like trying to eat a radial tire….a losing proposition.  In Jeff’s case, too tough to chew and too big to swallow.

I also remember, from the Nov 17, 2009 tour, Boun Yang ordering water buffalo steak tartare for breakfast in Pak Mong (picture below) which he graciously offered to share with me.  “Ah, thanks Boun Yang!  but I try not to eat raw meat before 9am.”

Water Buffalo Tartare

Here is the article that inspired all this:

Asia: The really new world of wine

We try to do something on every tour in Laos to aid the local people.  The truth is they have very, very little.  Schools frequently have dirt floors and the only real teaching aid is a blackboard and some chalk.

Over the years we have been able to do several things.   Last year, with the aid of Howard Stauffer’s Rotary Club connection, a new school building was built in Ban Vangtang.  In Ban Faen, where we usually have a homestay, not only has a new school building been financed from donations, but new bathrooms and a playing field as well.  Last year, Chantal, with the support of the Canadian Officers Club in Washington DC, raised $6,000 to fund the publication of schoolbooks.

This year, on the Tour d’Indochine, we pooled donations from the group and purchased sets of reading books.  We dropped three sets off at randomly selected schools along our route.  We split the last set up and we each gave individual books to kids we met along the road and/or their parents.

There is a strong sense of community and family in Laos.  Perhaps that is the reason that there is always a certain formality that Loatians demand when you make a contribution, no matter how small it is.  It usually goes something like this:  the school people come outside and line up;  you have to formally present whatever it is you are giving by first bowing your head and and then handing the item to a teacher;  then everyone has to shake hands (men shake hands, but for women, you put your hands together as if praying and bow your head).  They then make some speeches that we can’t interpret and then they like to hear us say things they can’t interpret.   As if this isn’t enough, if they have any advance warning, the kids will dance or put on some kind of performance.  Then there are pictures.

We may not understand much of what is said, but the message is always crystal clear.  They are letting you know that they truly appreciate receiving some books.

Here are some pics of what went down:

Lao Kids

Lao Cycling Tour

Lao Cycling Tour

Lao Cycling Tour

Lao Cycling Tour

Lao Cycling Tour

Lao Cycling Tour

Don Rhatigan unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on September 20, 2008 while on a biking tour in California.

Don had come with us to Laos back in 2005 and was scheduled to come with for the “Tour d’ Indochine” this November.  Don was an avid cyclist and a lover of Southeast Asia.   Some of you will no doubt have read about his return cycling trip through Japan after being away for 40 odd years which appears elsewhere in this blog (see “Don’s Deja Vu”).

I will remember Don as someone who always had a story and who always, always loved to ride.  He was a very strong rider and that only comes about by doing.  Don’s wife, Diny,  said “he was able to to do till the end what he liked best: biking”

Don Rhatigan